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Syria's Al-Nusra plans for Damascus take over, removal of Assad

In an interview, he said toppling the Assad regime, and not attacking the West, is the goal.

By Ed Adamczyk
Rebel fighters during clashes with the Syrian regime Army in Mastouma, in Idlib City, Syria in May 19, 2015. Heavy clashes between Syria's army and insurgents erupted around a military base south of Idlib on Monday as part of a wider battle for control of the north-western province. File Photo by Radwan Homsy/UPI
Rebel fighters during clashes with the Syrian regime Army in Mastouma, in Idlib City, Syria in May 19, 2015. Heavy clashes between Syria's army and insurgents erupted around a military base south of Idlib on Monday as part of a wider battle for control of the north-western province. File Photo by Radwan Homsy/UPI | License Photo

DOHA , Qatar, May 28 (UPI) -- The leader of the al-Qaida-affiliated al-Nusra Front announced its mission in Syria is to capture Damascus and topple President Bashar al-Assad.

The insurgent group has fought alongside other militias in capturing the city of Idrib and the town of Jisr al-Shughour, bringing the al-Nusra Front closer to Damascus, Syria's capital.

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"The orders from Dr. Ayman al-Zawahiri (current al-Qaida leader) are we should not attack the West from Syria, because it won't help us, and it may complicate the situation," Abu Mohammad al-Golani said Wednesday in a rare interview. "We will continue our focus on Damascus and on toppling this regime. I assure you, Assad's fall won't take a long time."

He also issued a warning to Syria's Shiite Alawite community, of which Bashar is a member, saying, "If the Alawites disowned Bashar al-Assad, stopped supporting his regime, and if they stopped practicing their erroneous doctrine, we would forgive them."

Golani has been on the U.S. government list of terrorists since 2013, and airstrikes led by the United States in Syria have included al-Nusra targets.

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